King Cobra Earns 'Best' and 'Most Innovative' Awards

For the second year in a row, Polin Waterparks and Pool Systems is honored to announce that its King Cobra waterslide at Aqualand Frejus was awarded "First Place" in the category of Best Waterslide in Europe by Kirmes & Park Revue magazine.

In addition, the company is pleased to announce the receipt of an additional award: "Most Innovative Product" in the entertainment category of the Turk Kompozit 2013 Composites Summit.

Best Waterslide in Europe

This year's Kirmes & Park Revue awards were presented during a special reception at the Euro Attractions Show (EAS) in Paris. Kirmes & Park Revue presented its inaugural European Star Awards only last year. The purpose of the awards is to recognize "entrepreneurial courage" and "exceptional innovation," according to the magazine's staff. It focuses solely on the European theme park industry and is voted on by an international team of experts. This year, the award organizers expanded the categories to 11 and plan to tweak the competition each year in one way or another to keep it interesting.

Most Innovative Composites Product

Organized and sponsored by the Turkish Composites Manufacturers Association (TCMA), the Composites Summit honored the latest technological products and developments in that industry during an event on Oct. 3 in Pendik, Turkey. Polin received its award for the Most Innovative Entertainment Product. The first-ever event is expected to be held every two years. The Turkish composites business sector is currently one of the 10 largest in Europe, having grown about 10 percent in the last few years.

Numerous Reasons for Recognition

Bilge Pakis, Design Manager for Polin, says he believes the reason that King Cobra has been singled out repeatedly as an award-winner-and as a major audience attraction-isn't due to just one factor. Numerous aspects of the ride's innovative design make it popular.

Introduced at IAAPA Asia in July 2010, the ride quickly became one of the most-talked-about waterslides in the industry. "It has truly been a game-changer," Pakis explained. "For one, King Cobra is a high-capacity ride. It accommodates two double tubes, so four persons can ride simultaneously."

Second, he says, it is an interactive attraction. "Riders experience the thrill of competing with one another as they race through the slide's twists and turns."

Third, the King Cobra's strong visual impact and spectator appeal make it unique among waterslide designs. "It also incorporates many special effects," Pakis notes. Specifically, as riders slide into the bowl of the cobra, they activate sensors. These instruments kick-start a variety of high-tech surprises designed to heighten the attraction's excitement, such as unexpected spurts of water, the chilling sound of a snake's hiss and adrenaline-pumping light effects. "It's a thrilling experience," he says.

Above, all, however, the King Cobra's most unique attribute is its creative theming. Bold red, black and white scales provide an imposing veneer over the exterior and interior of the slide's massive 50-feett (15.24-meter) height and 260-feett (790-meter) length.

"That integrated theming is what has truly made the ride so popular," Pakis explains. "In fact, this waterslide was the first to offer a theme built directly into its fiberglass design." Even more impressive about the slide, however, is that it is not limited to its widely recognized reptilian look. That flexibility is increasingly important because today's discerning customers expect uniqueness and variety in their amusement park experience.

Polin continues to design more creative and innovative slides in the future so that park owners can count on the company to continue delivering attractions that will pique customers' interest.

Polin's King Cobra waterslide is currently installed in parks located in Turkey, Thailand, Slovenia, Macedonia, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, the United States, China, France, Indonesia and Malaysia. The core feature of the ride is its unique configuration that enables two riders to race along a circular path filled with twists, turns and surprises. Water pressure of 3,875 gallons (14,668 liters) per minute catapults riders through open and closed tubes before they brave a heart-pounding plunge nearly 25 feet (8 meters) down a 50-degree slope. Along the way, riders accelerate to speeds of up to 32 mph (51 km/h). One of the aspects of King Cobra that sets it apart from competitors' slides is that it is made entirely via resin transfer molding (RTM), a technique that has only recently been introduced to the manufacture of waterslide attractions. One of the primary advantages of this technology is that it creates slide components that are smooth and shiny on both sides.

Polin was founded in Istanbul in 1976, and has since grown into a leading company in the waterparks industry. Today Polin is one of the world leaders in the design, production, and installation of waterparks, waterslides & water play attractions. More than 2000 waterpark projects in more than 82 countries around the world have been completed by Polin, and Polin is the biggest waterslide supplier in Eurasia. Working with a wide variety of clients has helped Polin reach several milestones, including installing the first waterparks of many countries and many other award winning rides at parks with world-renowned reputations. Polin offers the industry's widest range of products, including signature rides such as the patented King Cobra, Magic Spheres, Spheres, Magi Cone and Space Shuttle.

Polin is the pioneer in the advancement and application of closed-molded manufacturing technology in waterslide development. First implemented in 2006, 100% of Polin's annual fiberglass production has been converted to resin transfer molding (RTM), and meets the industry's highest standards. Polin offers both bowl rides and family rides featuring RTM techniques. Polin also offers its unique and patented Natural Light Effect technology, Special Pattern Effects technology in RTM and translucent RTM waterslides.Polin is an ISO9001 certificate holder by TUV Germany since 2003, all Polin slides conform to European norms, all steel parts conform to international DIN standarts, all designs conform to ASTM practices, and Polin is also CSEI approved for projects in China. Polin is the only waterslide company that holds a quality certificate for all of its waterslides by TUV, and was the 2012 Export Winner of Turkey in the SMSE Category. Polin has a high plant capacity with production in 3 existing plants in Turkey. By the end of 2013, a 4th facility will be open. Polin's team totals 500 people, with five offices throughout the world.

Polin is committed to providing the best-quality product and service by investing in continuous research and development. The company plans to further expand its L-RTM line while introducing new signature rides and innovations.For more information, visit www.polin.com.tr